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Feature Rollout

Last updated

Quick answer

A feature rollout is the release of a product change to users. It can be immediate, for everyone, or staged, from a small share up to the full audience. In A/B testing, it helps teams define how an experiment is structured, measured, and interpreted before they act on the result.

Key takeaways

  • A rollout is the release of a change to users. It can be everyone at once or a rising share.
  • A feature flag is the switch. A canary is the first small slice. An A/B test is a measurement, not the rollout itself.
  • How to run the switch is on the feature-flagging page and in the feature-flag and canary posts.

Definition

A feature rollout is the release of a product change to users. It can be immediate, for everyone, or staged, from a small share up to the full audience. The change itself is the feature.

What Feature Rollout means in A/B testing

A deploy puts code on servers. A rollout puts the behavior in front of users. Those can happen together, or the code can ship dark and the rollout can follow. A feature flag is the usual switch for the second pattern. A canary is the first, small stage, watched for errors. An A/B test can sit inside a rollout if you keep a comparison and a metric. The rollout does not require that comparison. Many rollouts are only about reaching everyone safely.

Why Feature Rollout matters

Shipping to 100 percent at once makes every user the first user. A staged rollout gives you a moment to stop. It also gets misread as an experiment. "Half of users have it and revenue is up" is not a result if the half was not a randomized control and the week also contained a campaign. Keep the release plan and the measurement plan as two sentences.

Example of Feature Rollout

A new onboarding step is deployed with the behavior off. On day one, 5 percent of new accounts get it and you watch errors. On day three you move to 25 percent. On day seven, errors are flat and you enable it for everyone. That sequence is a feature rollout. It is not yet an A/B test, because you did not compare completion against a held-out control as the decision. If you need that comparison, add it on purpose. The flag page is how the percentages are controlled.

How to use Feature Rollout

Decide the stages, the fail metrics, and who is allowed to stop the release. Use a flag when you want those stages without a deploy each time. Read canary testing for the first slice and what a feature flag is for the switch. Use feature flagging for the product workflow. Do not look for rollout percentages on this definition.

Common mistake

A common mistake is calling the rollout finished because the code is on production while the flag is still off for customers. Users have not received the feature. Another is expanding a stage because the first hour looked calm on a tiny slice that could not have shown a rare error.

Related A/B testing terms

Related guide

Feature flagging: The product page for turning a change on gradually. This entry only defines a rollout.

FAQ

Is a rollout the same thing as a feature flag?

No. The rollout is the release: who gets the change, and when. The flag is one way to control that release. You can roll a change out by deploying it to every server with no flag at all. The flag post is about the switch. This page is about the release.

Is a 50 percent rollout an A/B test?

Only if the other 50 percent is a control you are scoring on a metric you named in advance. A rollout that simply enables a feature for half of users, with no comparison plan, is a partial release. It limits risk. It does not estimate a lift.

Where do I start if I want to ship in stages?

On the feature-flagging page, then the canary post if the first stage is a safety check. This definition does not set the percentages or the monitoring limits. Those belong to the canary guide.

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